November 5

John 8:21-30

[21] So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” [22] So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” [23] He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. [24] I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” [25] So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. [26] I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” [27] They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. [28] So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. [29] And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” [30] As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

2 Peter 2:17-22

[17] These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. [18] For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. [19] They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. [20] For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. [21] For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. [22] What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

Job 5

    [1] “Call now; is there anyone who will answer you?

        To which of the holy ones will you turn? 

    [2] 

    Surely vexation kills the fool,

        and jealousy slays the simple. 

    [3] 

    I have seen the fool taking root,

        but suddenly I cursed his dwelling. 

    [4] 

    His children are far from safety;

        they are crushed in the gate,

        and there is no one to deliver them. 

    [5] 

    The hungry eat his harvest,

        and he takes it even out of thorns,

        and the thirsty pant after his wealth. 

    [6] 

    For affliction does not come from the dust,

        nor does trouble sprout from the ground, 

    [7] 

    but man is born to trouble

        as the sparks fly upward.

    [8] 

    “As for me, I would seek God,

        and to God would I commit my cause, 

    [9] 

    who does great things and unsearchable,

        marvelous things without number: 

    [10] 

    he gives rain on the earth

        and sends waters on the fields; 

    [11] 

    he sets on high those who are lowly,

        and those who mourn are lifted to safety. 

    [12] 

    He frustrates the devices of the crafty,

        so that their hands achieve no success. 

    [13] 

    He catches the wise in their own craftiness,

        and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end. 

    [14] 

    They meet with darkness in the daytime

        and grope at noonday as in the night. 

    [15] 

    But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth

        and from the hand of the mighty. 

    [16] 

    So the poor have hope,

        and injustice shuts her mouth.

    [17] 

    “Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves;

        therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty. 

    [18] 

    For he wounds, but he binds up;

        he shatters, but his hands heal. 

    [19] 

    He will deliver you from six troubles;

        in seven no evil shall touch you. 

    [20] 

    In famine he will redeem you from death,

        and in war from the power of the sword. 

    [21] 

    You shall be hidden from the lash of the tongue,

        and shall not fear destruction when it comes. 

    [22] 

    At destruction and famine you shall laugh,

        and shall not fear the beasts of the earth. 

    [23] 

    For you shall be in league with the stones of the field,

        and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you. 

    [24] 

    You shall know that your tent is at peace,

        and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing. 

    [25] 

    You shall know also that your offspring shall be many,

        and your descendants as the grass of the earth. 

    [26] 

    You shall come to your grave in ripe old age,

        like a sheaf gathered up in its season. 

    [27] 

    Behold, this we have searched out; it is true.

        Hear, and know it for your good.”

Ezekiel 16

The LORD’s Faithless Bride

[1] Again the word of the LORD came to me: [2] “Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations, [3] and say, Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. [4] And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. [5] No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born.

[6] “And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ [7] I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare.

[8] “When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord GOD, and you became mine. [9] Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. [10] I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk. [11] And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. [12] And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. [13] Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. [14] And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord GOD.

[15] “But you trusted in your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his. [16] You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. The like has never been, nor ever shall be. [17] You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and with them played the whore. [18] And you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set my oil and my incense before them. [19] Also my bread that I gave you—I fed you with fine flour and oil and honey—you set before them for a pleasing aroma; and so it was, declares the Lord GOD. [20] And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your whorings so small a matter [21] that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them? [22] And in all your abominations and your whorings you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, wallowing in your blood.

[23] “And after all your wickedness (woe, woe to you! declares the Lord GOD), [24] you built yourself a vaulted chamber and made yourself a lofty place in every square. [25] At the head of every street you built your lofty place and made your beauty an abomination, offering yourself to any passerby and multiplying your whoring. [26] You also played the whore with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, multiplying your whoring, to provoke me to anger. [27] Behold, therefore, I stretched out my hand against you and diminished your allotted portion and delivered you to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. [28] You played the whore also with the Assyrians, because you were not satisfied; yes, you played the whore with them, and still you were not satisfied. [29] You multiplied your whoring also with the trading land of Chaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied.

[30] “How sick is your heart, declares the Lord GOD, because you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute, [31] building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street, and making your lofty place in every square. Yet you were not like a prostitute, because you scorned payment. [32] Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband! [33] Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side with your whorings. [34] So you were different from other women in your whorings. No one solicited you to play the whore, and you gave payment, while no payment was given to you; therefore you were different.

[35] “Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the LORD: [36] Thus says the Lord GOD, Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your whorings with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, and because of the blood of your children that you gave to them, [37] therefore, behold, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from every side and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness. [38] And I will judge you as women who commit adultery and shed blood are judged, and bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy. [39] And I will give you into their hands, and they shall throw down your vaulted chamber and break down your lofty places. They shall strip you of your clothes and take your beautiful jewels and leave you naked and bare. [40] They shall bring up a crowd against you, and they shall stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. [41] And they shall burn your houses and execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women. I will make you stop playing the whore, and you shall also give payment no more. [42] So will I satisfy my wrath on you, and my jealousy shall depart from you. I will be calm and will no more be angry. [43] Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have enraged me with all these things, therefore, behold, I have returned your deeds upon your head, declares the Lord GOD. Have you not committed lewdness in addition to all your abominations?

[44] “Behold, everyone who uses proverbs will use this proverb about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ [45] You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children; and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. [46] And your elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters. [47] Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways. [48] As I live, declares the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. [49] Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. [50] They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it. [51] Samaria has not committed half your sins. You have committed more abominations than they, and have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations that you have committed. [52] Bear your disgrace, you also, for you have intervened on behalf of your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

[53] “I will restore their fortunes, both the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortunes in their midst, [54] that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all that you have done, becoming a consolation to them. [55] As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former state, and you and your daughters shall return to your former state. [56] Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride, [57] before your wickedness was uncovered? Now you have become an object of reproach for the daughters of Syria and all those around her, and for the daughters of the Philistines, those all around who despise you. [58] You bear the penalty of your lewdness and your abominations, declares the LORD.

The LORD’s Everlasting Covenant

[59] “For thus says the Lord GOD: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, [60] yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. [61] Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you. [62] I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD, [63] that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord GOD.”

What Does Unity Among Believers Mean?

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”

PSALM 133:1

 

PONDER THIS

On the Day of Pentecost, one of the first things we see is that the believers were united. The Bible tells us in Acts 2:1, “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” The Body of Christ needs a unity that will pass over denominational lines. The problem is that the devil hates unity. God brings us together; the devil divides us. But the altar unites us. And today, we need to restore our unity.

Now, there are some things we won’t sacrifice. I’m not talking about cult-like unity—I’m talking about people who are blood-bought brothers and sisters in Christ. They may not cross every T and dot every I exactly the same way we do, but if they’re in the family of God, they are our brothers and sisters. We need to pray that all believers in our city, all believers in our state, all believers in our country, and all believers in the world will come together and be as Jesus prayed for us to be: “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:21).

Love your brothers and sisters in Christ—no matter the color of their skin, their age, or their social status. Put your arms around them. Bring them in. Don’t shut them out, and don’t divide over unnecessary things. When we get together, we can do wonderful and glorious things.

Who are some of the believers you struggle to greet or welcome into your community at church or into your life?

Why have you struggled with unity in the past?

PRACTICE THIS

Get to know a believer in your church or community you have not gotten to know yet.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Real Problem with Anxiety

“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:30)

Jesus says that the root of anxiety is inadequate faith — “little faith” — in our Father’s future grace.

One reaction to this might be: “This is not good news! In fact, it is very discouraging to learn that what I thought was a mere struggle with an anxious disposition is rather a far deeper struggle with whether I trust God.”

My response to this discouragement is to agree, but then to disagree.

Suppose you had been having pain in your stomach and had been struggling with medicines and diets of all kinds, to no avail. And then suppose that your doctor tells you, after a routine visit, that you have cancer in your small intestine. Would that be good news? You say, emphatically not! And I agree.

But let me ask the question another way: Are you glad the doctor discovered the cancer while it is still treatable, and that indeed it can be very successfully treated? You say, yes, I am very glad that the doctor found the real problem. Again I agree.

So, the news that you have cancer is not good news. But, in another sense, it is good news, because knowing what is really wrong is good, especially when your problem can be treated successfully.

That’s what it’s like to learn that the real problem behind anxiety is “little faith” (as Jesus says) in the promises of God’s future grace. And he is able to work in wonderfully healing ways when we cry out, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).

John Piper 

November 4

John 8:12-20

I Am the Light of the World

[12] Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” [13] So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” [14] Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. [15] You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. [16] Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. [17] In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. [18] I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” [19] They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” [20] These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

2 Peter 2:10-16

[10] and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. 

Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones,  [11] whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. [12] But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, [13] suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. [14] They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! [15] Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, [16] but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

Job 4

Eliphaz Speaks: The Innocent Prosper

[1] Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

    [2] “If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?

        Yet who can keep from speaking? 

    [3] Behold, you have instructed many,

        and you have strengthened the weak hands. 

    [4] Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,

        and you have made firm the feeble knees. 

    [5] But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;

        it touches you, and you are dismayed. 

    [6] Is not your fear of God your confidence,

        and the integrity of your ways your hope?

    [7] “Remember: who that was innocent ever perished?

        Or where were the upright cut off? 

    [8] As I have seen, those who plow iniquity

        and sow trouble reap the same. 

    [9] By the breath of God they perish,

        and by the blast of his anger they are consumed. 

    [10] The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion,

        the teeth of the young lions are broken. 

    [11] The strong lion perishes for lack of prey,

        and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

    [12] “Now a word was brought to me stealthily;

        my ear received the whisper of it. 

    [13] Amid thoughts from visions of the night,

        when deep sleep falls on men, 

    [14] dread came upon me, and trembling,

        which made all my bones shake. 

    [15] A spirit glided past my face;

        the hair of my flesh stood up. 

    [16] It stood still,

        but I could not discern its appearance.

    A form was before my eyes;

        there was silence, then I heard a voice: 

    [17] ‘Can mortal man be in the right before God?

        Can a man be pure before his Maker? 

    [18] Even in his servants he puts no trust,

        and his angels he charges with error; 

    [19] how much more those who dwell in houses of clay,

        whose foundation is in the dust,

        who are crushed like the moth. 

    [20] Between morning and evening they are beaten to pieces;

        they perish forever without anyone regarding it. 

    [21] Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them,

        do they not die, and that without wisdom?’

Ezekiel 13

False Prophets Condemned

[1] The word of the LORD came to me: [2] “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those who prophesy from their own hearts: ‘Hear the word of the LORD!’ [3] Thus says the Lord GOD, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! [4] Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel. [5] You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the LORD. [6] They have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘Declares the LORD,’ when the LORD has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word. [7] Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, whenever you have said, ‘Declares the LORD,’ although I have not spoken?”

[8] Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, I am against you, declares the Lord GOD. [9] My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord GOD. [10] Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash, [11] say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. [12] And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the coating with which you smeared it?’ [13] Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end. [14] And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the LORD. [15] Thus will I spend my wrath upon the wall and upon those who have smeared it with whitewash, and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who smeared it, [16] the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, declares the Lord GOD.

[17] “And you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own hearts. Prophesy against them [18] and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive? [19] You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies.

[20] “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against your magic bands with which you hunt the souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms, and I will let the souls whom you hunt go free, the souls like birds. [21] Your veils also I will tear off and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand as prey, and you shall know that I am the LORD. [22] Because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and you have encouraged the wicked, that he should not turn from his evil way to save his life, [23] therefore you shall no more see false visions nor practice divination. I will deliver my people out of your hand. And you shall know that I am the LORD.”

Ezekiel 14

Idolatrous Elders Condemned

[1] Then certain of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. [2] And the word of the LORD came to me: [3] “Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them? [4] Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Any one of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his idols, [5] that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, who are all estranged from me through their idols.

[6] “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations. [7] For any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, who separates himself from me, taking his idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to a prophet to consult me through him, I the LORD will answer him myself. [8] And I will set my face against that man; I will make him a sign and a byword and cut him off from the midst of my people, and you shall know that I am the LORD. [9] And if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, the LORD, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. [10] And they shall bear their punishment—the punishment of the prophet and the punishment of the inquirer shall be alike—[11] that the house of Israel may no more go astray from me, nor defile themselves anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be my people and I may be their God, declares the Lord GOD.”

Jerusalem Will Not Be Spared

[12] And the word of the LORD came to me: [13] “Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, [14] even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord GOD.

[15] “If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they ravage it, and it be made desolate, so that no one may pass through because of the beasts, [16] even if these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters. They alone would be delivered, but the land would be desolate.

[17] “Or if I bring a sword upon that land and say, Let a sword pass through the land, and I cut off from it man and beast, [18] though these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they alone would be delivered.

[19] “Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it man and beast, [20] even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness.

[21] “For thus says the Lord GOD: How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast! [22] But behold, some survivors will be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out; behold, when they come out to you, and you see their ways and their deeds, you will be consoled for the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, for all that I have brought upon it. [23] They will console you, when you see their ways and their deeds, and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, declares the Lord GOD.”

Ezekiel 15

Jerusalem, a Useless Vine

[1] And the word of the LORD came to me: [2] “Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any wood, the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest? [3] Is wood taken from it to make anything? Do people take a peg from it to hang any vessel on it? [4] Behold, it is given to the fire for fuel. When the fire has consumed both ends of it, and the middle of it is charred, is it useful for anything? [5] Behold, when it was whole, it was used for nothing. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it ever be used for anything! [6] Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem. [7] And I will set my face against them. Though they escape from the fire, the fire shall yet consume them, and you will know that I am the LORD, when I set my face against them. [8] And I will make the land desolate, because they have acted faithlessly, declares the Lord GOD.”

Do the Small Things

He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.”

LUKE 16:10

 

PONDER THIS

You need to be faithful in the small things. All big things are made of little things. For example, your body has various members; these members have various parts; and these parts have cells, which are made up of molecules. Vast as the ocean is, it is made up of drops; the drops are made up of molecules; and the molecules are made up of atoms. All the millions and billions of years that may have been or ever will be are made up of ages; the ages are made up of years; years are made up of days; days are made up of hours; and hours are made up of minutes and seconds. Everything big is made of something small. So, if you’ll be faithful in the small things, the big things will take care of themselves.

Do you know what the big things in life are made of? Little acts, little words, little thoughts. You can’t have the much without having the little. We need to ask God to grow our faithfulness. We must be faithful in the small things and the secret things because who we are in secret is who we are—nothing more; nothing less.

What are the small things in life you often overlook? How will you view the small things differently moving forward?

What are some of the ways you have seen the importance of the small things in life?

PRACTICE THIS

Do the small things to the best of your ability today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Meaning of Suffering

He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. (Hebrews 11:26)

We do not choose suffering simply because we are told to, but because the One who tells us to describes it as the path to everlasting joy.

He beckons us into the obedience of suffering not to demonstrate the strength of our devotion to duty, or to reveal the vigor of our moral resolve, or to prove the heights of our tolerance for pain, but rather to manifest, in childlike faith, the infinite preciousness of his all-satisfying promises — the all-satisfying greatness and beauty of his own glory as the fulfillment of all of them.

Moses “[chose] to be mistreated with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. . . . For he was looking to the reward” (Hebrews 11:25–26). Therefore, his obedience glorified the reward — all that God is for him in Christ — not the resolve to suffer.

This is the essence of Christian Hedonism. In the pursuit of joy through suffering, we magnify the all-satisfying worth of the Source of our joy. God himself shines as the brightness at the end of our tunnel of pain.

If we do not communicate that he is the goal and the ground of our joy in suffering, then the very meaning of our suffering will be lost.

The meaning is this: God is gain. God is gain. God himself is gain. That’s the meaning of our suffering.

The chief end of man is to glorify God. And it is truer in suffering than anywhere else that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

John Piper 

November 3

John 8:1-11

[1] but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. [2] Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. [3] The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst [4] they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. [5] Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” [6] This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. [7] And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” [8] And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. [9] But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. [10] Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” [11] She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]]

2 Peter 2:1-9

False Prophets and Teachers

[1] But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. [2] And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. [3] And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

[4] For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; [5] if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; [6] if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; [7] and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked [8] (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); [9] then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

Job 3

Job Laments His Birth

[1] After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. [2] And Job said:

    [3] “Let the day perish on which I was born,

        and the night that said,

        ‘A man is conceived.’ 

    [4] Let that day be darkness!

        May God above not seek it,

        nor light shine upon it. 

    [5] Let gloom and deep darkness claim it.

        Let clouds dwell upon it;

        let the blackness of the day terrify it. 

    [6] That night—let thick darkness seize it!

        Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;

        let it not come into the number of the months. 

    [7] Behold, let that night be barren;

        let no joyful cry enter it. 

    [8] Let those curse it who curse the day,

        who are ready to rouse up Leviathan. 

    [9] Let the stars of its dawn be dark;

        let it hope for light, but have none,

        nor see the eyelids of the morning, 

    [10] because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb,

        nor hide trouble from my eyes.

    [11] “Why did I not die at birth,

        come out from the womb and expire? 

    [12] Why did the knees receive me?

        Or why the breasts, that I should nurse? 

    [13] For then I would have lain down and been quiet;

        I would have slept; then I would have been at rest, 

    [14] with kings and counselors of the earth

        who rebuilt ruins for themselves, 

    [15] or with princes who had gold,

        who filled their houses with silver. 

    [16] Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child,

        as infants who never see the light? 

    [17] There the wicked cease from troubling,

        and there the weary are at rest. 

    [18] There the prisoners are at ease together;

        they hear not the voice of the taskmaster. 

    [19] The small and the great are there,

        and the slave is free from his master.

    [20] “Why is light given to him who is in misery,

        and life to the bitter in soul, 

    [21] who long for death, but it comes not,

        and dig for it more than for hidden treasures, 

    [22] who rejoice exceedingly

        and are glad when they find the grave? 

    [23] Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,

        whom God has hedged in? 

    [24] For my sighing comes instead of my bread,

        and my groanings are poured out like water. 

    [25] For the thing that I fear comes upon me,

        and what I dread befalls me. 

    [26] I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;

        I have no rest, but trouble comes.”

Ezekiel 9

Idolaters Killed

[1] Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, “Bring near the executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand.” [2] And behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand, and with them was a man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar.

[3] Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. [4] And the LORD said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” [5] And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. [6] Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house. [7] Then he said to them, “Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out.” So they went out and struck in the city. [8] And while they were striking, and I was left alone, I fell upon my face, and cried, “Ah, Lord GOD! Will you destroy all the remnant of Israel in the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?”

[9] Then he said to me, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice. For they say, ‘The LORD has forsaken the land, and the LORD does not see.’ [10] As for me, my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; I will bring their deeds upon their heads.”

[11] And behold, the man clothed in linen, with the writing case at his waist, brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded me.”

Ezekiel 10

The Glory of the LORD Leaves the Temple

[1] Then I looked, and behold, on the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something like a sapphire, in appearance like a throne. [2] And he said to the man clothed in linen, “Go in among the whirling wheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.” 

And he went in before my eyes.  [3] Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the house, when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court. [4] And the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the LORD. [5] And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.

[6] And when he commanded the man clothed in linen, “Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside a wheel. [7] And a cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. [8] The cherubim appeared to have the form of a human hand under their wings.

[9] And I looked, and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub, and the appearance of the wheels was like sparkling beryl. [10] And as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. [11] When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went, but in whatever direction the front wheel faced, the others followed without turning as they went. [12] And their whole body, their rims, and their spokes, their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes all around—the wheels that the four of them had. [13] As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing “the whirling wheels.” [14] And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was a human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

[15] And the cherubim mounted up. These were the living creatures that I saw by the Chebar canal. [16] And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them. And when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels did not turn from beside them. [17] When they stood still, these stood still, and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in them.

[18] Then the glory of the LORD went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. [19] And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth before my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the LORD, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.

[20] These were the living creatures that I saw underneath the God of Israel by the Chebar canal; and I knew that they were cherubim. [21] Each had four faces, and each four wings, and underneath their wings the likeness of human hands. [22] And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the Chebar canal. Each one of them went straight forward.

Ezekiel 11

Judgment on Wicked Counselors

[1] The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of the LORD, which faces east. And behold, at the entrance of the gateway there were twenty-five men. And I saw among them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. [2] And he said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city; [3] who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’ [4] Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man.”

[5] And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the LORD: So you think, O house of Israel. For I know the things that come into your mind. [6] You have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain. [7] Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, they are the meat, and this city is the cauldron, but you shall be brought out of the midst of it. [8] You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord GOD. [9] And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and give you into the hands of foreigners, and execute judgments upon you. [10] You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, and you shall know that I am the LORD. [11] This city shall not be your cauldron, nor shall you be the meat in the midst of it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, [12] and you shall know that I am the LORD. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, but have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you.”

[13] And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell down on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”

Israel’s New Heart and Spirit

[14] And the word of the LORD came to me: [15] “Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen, the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far from the LORD; to us this land is given for a possession.’ [16] Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.’ [17] Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ [18] And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. [19] And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, [20] that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. [21] But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.”

[22] Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. [23] And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city. [24] And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. [25] And I told the exiles all the things that the LORD had shown me.

Ezekiel 12

Judah’s Captivity Symbolized

[1] The word of the LORD came to me: [2] “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house. [3] As for you, son of man, prepare for yourself an exile’s baggage, and go into exile by day in their sight. You shall go like an exile from your place to another place in their sight. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house. [4] You shall bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile, and you shall go out yourself at evening in their sight, as those do who must go into exile. [5] In their sight dig through the wall, and bring your baggage out through it. [6] In their sight you shall lift the baggage upon your shoulder and carry it out at dusk. You shall cover your face that you may not see the land, for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel.”

[7] And I did as I was commanded. I brought out my baggage by day, as baggage for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands. I brought out my baggage at dusk, carrying it on my shoulder in their sight.

[8] In the morning the word of the LORD came to me: [9] “Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’ [10] Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: This oracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it.’ [11] Say, ‘I am a sign for you: as I have done, so shall it be done to them. They shall go into exile, into captivity.’ [12] And the prince who is among them shall lift his baggage upon his shoulder at dusk, and shall go out. They shall dig through the wall to bring him out through it. He shall cover his face, that he may not see the land with his eyes. [13] And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. And I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet he shall not see it, and he shall die there. [14] And I will scatter toward every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops, and I will unsheathe the sword after them. [15] And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries. [16] But I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they go, and may know that I am the LORD.”

[17] And the word of the LORD came to me: [18] “Son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink water with trembling and with anxiety. [19] And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with anxiety, and drink water in dismay. In this way her land will be stripped of all it contains, on account of the violence of all those who dwell in it. [20] And the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am the LORD.”

[21] And the word of the LORD came to me: [22] “Son of man, what is this proverb that you have about the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing’? [23] Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, The days are near, and the fulfillment of every vision. [24] For there shall be no more any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. [25] For I am the LORD; I will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord GOD.”

[26] And the word of the LORD came to me: [27] “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ [28] Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: None of my words will be delayed any longer, but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord GOD.”